


Ladders

by goodloser



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Animals, Canon Compliant, M/M, Pre-Time Skip, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-02-01 03:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21359746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodloser/pseuds/goodloser
Summary: Lorenz likes horses (and all things noble) as Claude likes wyverns (and all things not).
Relationships: Lorenz Hellman Gloucester/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 85





	Ladders

Lorenz had it in him to be a fine companion when he wasn’t spending hours on hours extolling the virtues of House Gloucester or the nobility of Leicester or whatever such thing had caught his eager tongue that day. Instead, he liked to put his trained energy to his hobbies — sort of sweet to see his passion, though it wasn’t as if Claude would ever admit that without a teasing laugh.

Today, Claude was on mucking duty at the stables with Lorenz accompanying him (insisted on it, really) in the hopes he could teach him a thing or two about the horses. He’d never been a fan of them, y’see. Claude wasn’t the best with animals; far from the worst, he was no Marianne.

He did like the golden deer of his House’s namesake. Horses, on the other hand, were skittish and yet big enough to crush him. Unpredictability was fun and all, but he’d take the familiarity of a dog if he ever wanted a pet.

“It will simply  _ not _ do, Claude, I hope you know that. You are a  _ Von Riegan _ . Noble blood! What kind of noble won’t, at the very least, treat his steed well?”

Ouch. Perhaps that earlier bliss of Lorenz cheerfully discussing dressage was a dream after all. Claude must have said the wrong thing somewhere, didn’t pay attention somewhere else, and now he was back to his old tricks.

He waved a hand of dismissal at it (almost in mock approximation of Lorenz’s own movements, actually). “I’m not going to  _ hurt _ the things, Lorenz. We just don’t get along.”

Lorenz tittered, “Well, that’s what I’m here for after all. You’ll get acquainted with dear Dorte or someone in no time.”

“Marianne will  _ never _ let me near her.”

“Oh, but she’s a gentle creature —“

They were rounding on the stables now. The smell of horse was already thick in the air. That was another thing he wasn’t such a fan of: small pets just went outside, but you had to really get in and personal with a horse’s diet if you worked with them.

Claude wasn’t going to slack off on any of his duties, but  _ no _ one except Ferdinand liked this part of horses.

He made a show of pushing Lorenz for a moment (only gentle, only to make him stop talking a second) and cupping a hand to his eyes so he could look around for something. Then with a grin, “Don’t we have any stallions?”

Lorenz stood his ground with a frown. He looked the perfect scolding mother: “Claude von Riegan. You are  _ not _ riding a stallion anywhere.”

“At least let me  _ befriend _ one, O’ Humble Horse Whisperer.”

… Was he actually looking for one? He grabbed Claude’s sleeve and dragged him over to the southernmost stables. There was a tall how-many-hands creature with brown fur and black hair leaning out of the door. He stared at the pair of them with interest.

“This is Wulfric!” And Claude couldn’t help but admit it  _ was _ impressive to see Lorenz practically prance to an animal almost three feet taller than him. He stretched out a hand for the horse to inspect. “He’s an 18 hand buckskin Vestran.”

Claude folded his arms and kept at a distance, watching it. He read people with ease. The eyes of horses were closed window to him.

At least it didn’t seem too scared. “Hullo, Wulfric.”

Lorenz kept his attention on it. Once the horse seemed satisfied, he began to scratch at the side of its cheek, “There’s a sweet one. Good, Claude, no sudden movements, and keep your voice calm. See the ears — he likes us. If you fetch a carrot from the shed, he’ll like it.”

Claude should’ve expected nothing less than a full-on-lesson. He did as he was told and cast about for a horsey treat. Maybe he regretted not paying attention in horseback lessons, in favour of eyeing useful vantage spots?

(Nah, he didn’t.)

He felt more at ease around the animal with Lorenz by his side to enact some of his noblemen charms. The explanations went on… “Wulfric is a fine horse for beginners. Not a bad choice, Claude. Slowly show him your hand so he can greet you.”

He extended his arm. Wulfric’s massive head bent down like a tree trunk to sniff his hand. The breath was warm and odd on his bare skin.

Trying to keep his chuckle down, he said, “That’s me, Claude. How do I smell?”

Wulfric didn’t reply or move away. Lorenz said, “Spices and your poisons, yes,  _ all _ of the time.”

Okay, either Lorenz had been snooping in his room again, or he needed to bathe more.

Lorenz was pleased. He showed Claude how to feed it (the big square teeth bothering him more than any wyvern's might) and where to scratch on his coat. Their impromptu lesson was over when Claude felt he had to stop stalling and do his work and he set about with a spade in one of the smaller sheds while Lorenz worked on grooming one of the horses nearby.

At one point, he had to wipe the sweat off his brow and sigh. “I’ll hand it to you, Lorenz, you’ve changed my mind. Maybe I’ll let my new friends curl up in bed with me tonight.”

Lorenz was turned away from his. His words were punctuated with the soft sound of the brush gliding through the white mane. “I know you jest, but miniature ponies do exist. I wanted one as a child, but Father said it would smell in the house.”

It would absolutely smell.

Claude went quiet for a moment as his thoughts drifted to wyverns; so different to horses, but mounts anyway. Wyverns never backed down — never relented — learning to ride them was a challenge, and not a necessity.

The words, “Lorenz, you’re kind of like a horse,” slipped out.

“... … … Pardon?”

“I mean it!” He stopped again and leant on his spade now, waving one hand in explanation. He wasn’t smiling, but it wasn’t an insult: it was the same interested pout he’d make reading a book. “You’re noble, you need everything to be proper and fussy. People even have to approach you the right way or they’ll be getting an earful. But you also strive for victory and you’re trained like a knight. People can rely on you.

Plus, you love trotting around with ribbons all over you.”

“That last part sounds far more like a certain layabout,” Lorenz began so gravely it made Claude burst out into a too-loud laugh and one of the horses snorted. “But while I’ve never considered it, I suppose you’re right.”

Truthfully, there was more to it than that Claude was keeping to himself. If Lorenz stole a look at him, he’d see that favourite curve of Claude’s that people mistook for a smile despite it being more of a grimace.

Lorenz wasn’t skittish, but Claude knew he had a distrust for others and a watchful eye for everything under the sun in Gloucester. And his predator, his wolf or whatnot was already above him regardless of whether he knew it or not. A pedigree animal moving as steered.

“-- And you?”

Claude was snapped back to reality. He hid it by pretending he was examining the floor. “What was that?”

“Well, now I wanted to now what animal you’re like.” Lorenz was looking at him now, stopping in his brushing. “A deer? You’re certainly golden.”

“Missed the shot,” Claude chuckled. He spread his arms in front of his chest. “C’mon, I’ll teach you about wyverns. Call it a trade-off.”

Lorenz squinted up and down at his sudden lackadaisy. “You haven’t finished your work, Von Riegan.”

Claude set his spade down against a wall. He walked towards the exit, hands behind neck, whistling a soft tune all the way.

“Claude!”

“I’m just taking a walk. Let me guess, Father says you need to see where I’m going.”

Lorenz chased him all the way to the wyvern pens.

“Here, here,” Claude laughed. The pair had reached one of the lesser brown’s pens: a female he was currently getting acquainted with. Cowardly Lorenz was  _ not _ , but Claude could tell by the doubt in his eyes he was already dreading the thought of his feet leaving the ground.

Claude was opening the latch and the gate and already stepping in. “Come in, come in, I won’t make you ride one.”

“Claude,” Lorenz sighed. Claude wasn’t looking but he could tell he was pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine, I’ll let you teach me about these b… animals.”

Wyverns in general weren’t much bigger than horses; probably another reason humans rode them. He stepped up to the wyvern currently curled up on the ground and, without hesitation bomped her gently on the snout. She opened her yellow, torchlight eyes and huffed. It was a loud, low sound that swept on the ground. Lorenz watched in fascination.

Claude started roughhousing her. He dragged his arm over her head like he was giving her a noogie.

Lorenz raised a hand and swiped at his chin. “Claude, are you sure it won’t bite…? You seem awfully rough.”

“That’s the point. Look, come here. You need to show dominance, but it’s good for the young ones to get play in, too. It helps their reflexes.” Even saying that, the wyvern took a false nip at him. (Lorenz likely too unaccustomed to them to know it wasn’t a real bite.) “She’s Pari, and she’s the wyvern I’ve been training with.”

Lorenz cleared his throat and bowed. He took the hint the wyvern wasn’t going to jump and fly off at this comparatively weak creature’s movements. “Good afternoon, Pari. My name is Lorenz Hellman Gloucester.”

He came closer and took Claude took his hand to put it on her snout, where his was. It was colder than a house or person; more like a lukewarm teapot.

“Not what you’re expecting, right? Her breath hasn’t come in yet. The scales are insulating so they make good little heatbombs. Oops, better not tell your old man that.” Claude raised a finger to his lips and winked.

Perhaps Lorenz wouldn’t, he thought.

“They fight a lot, so they know how to protect their face. If you want to take one down, magic’s the best bet. Aim right here.” Claude patted the paler scales on the wyvern’s underside and she gave a growl in warning. “A defensive wyvern moves to the ground to protect itself, so try to do it quickly.”

Lorenz managed to say, “I hardly came here expecting to learn how to kill them.”

“Just some strategy tips for the field.” Another wink. He folded his arms.

“I truly hope you’re not putting me in the path of one of these any time soon,” he muttered with a fold of the arms. While horses were good work animals, wyverns were usually only used in the military — a poor omen, then — and the impatient thump of this one’s tail on the ground seemed awfully unpredictable. But knowing Claude, that was what he liked about them. “They seem difficult to deal with.”

Claude scratched an itch under the wyvern’s wing. “Who knows.” His grin was almost infectious. Lorenz resisted, but he did watch carefully for the wrinkles in Claude’s cheeks and his slack posture that meant he really was enjoying himself here.

Here, in something that didn’t really have a far-off tactical endgame. At its heart, he was laughing with a creature as unreadable and rare as he was.

The afternoon sun was beginning to set licks of orange at the horizon. Lorenz had the sudden, horrible_,_ _inappropriate, gauche,_ urge to just reach forward and grasp at Claude and understand him in ways he didn’t need to, but wanted to. Maybe just to feel his Hilda-painted hands between Claude’s a moment. He was _far_ too close to him. Even if his embarrassing impulses wanted to be closer.

He jerked away, and tried not to make it too unnatural. Claude caught on despite his lost focus. His eyes were narrow with humour. “What, did she make you jump?”

“Y… Perhaps.” Lorenz looked at his own, tented hands.

**Author's Note:**

> why did i write 2 fics in one day. please point out typos/weird bits as you see them i'm passing out


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